When WILL someone get a grip on the eco fanatics? MPs call on police and judges to end the wave of chaotic climate protests as rebels wreck snooker and vow 30,000 protesters will descend on London
- Police and judges must end the country’s wave of chaotic eco protests, MPs said
- Activists disrupted snooker, Grand National and threatened London Marathon
Police and judges must end the country’s growing wave of chaotic eco protests, MPs said last night.
Activists have already disrupted the World Snooker Championship and the Grand National and yesterday they threatened Sunday’s London Marathon. Ringleaders said they would flood the capital with 30,000 supporters ahead of the hugely popular race.
Rishi Sunak last night vowed to bring in tougher laws to stop protesters ruining ‘great British sporting events’ with their ‘selfish and reckless behaviour’.
However there was mounting frustration among Conservative politicians who demanded drastic and immediate action.
‘If there is one whiff of trouble from these eco idiots then they should be immediately rounded up, detained and then charged,’ said party deputy chairman Lee Anderson.
A Just Stop Oil protester jumped on the table, covering it in orange powder, at the World Snooker Championship on 17 April, 2023
Police remove a protester before the start of the Grand National horse race at Aintree Racecourse on April 15
Activists have already disrupted the World Snooker Championship and the Grand National and yesterday they threatened Sunday’s London Marathon (pictured in 2019)
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith added: ‘It’s very simple. The law is there, they should arrest them.
‘Their right to protest is swept away by the aggressive nature in which they destroy everybody else’s rights.
‘What the Government, the police and the judiciary have to do is act severely to make sure that they understand the consequences of their actions.’
And Gareth Johnson, Conservative MP for Dartford, said: ‘It’s outrageous that these groups are literally blackmailing us to demand that we must all adopt their agenda. If everybody behaved like this we would have total anarchy.’
Extinction Rebellion, which declared in January it was moving away from disruptive tactics, yesterday claimed it could be ‘forced to unquit’ if ministers did not agree to its demands on halting state support for fossil fuel.
The eco-zealot threw orange powder paint on the table, interrupting play on Monday evening
The balls and one end of the table was covered in the orange paint that the protester threw
Security dragged him from the table and he was reportedly later arrested, according to Just Stop Oil
It is leading a coalition of more than 200 groups including Greenpeace that will descend on London for four days of climate protests from Friday.
It revealed yesterday it will stage an event on Sunday centred on the ‘final stretch’ of the marathon, where the 50,000 runners will be completing the 26.2 mile race, many raising cash for good causes.
Spokesman Marijn van de Geer insisted the activists were not aiming to directly inconvenience people but admitted the race might face ‘logistical disruption’.
Race director Hugh Brasher said XR had ‘assured us they do not wish to disrupt the TCS London Marathon’ but added: ‘We are working closely with the Metropolitan Police and other stakeholders on the safety and security of the event.’
Eco group Just Stop Oil, which was behind Monday’s snooker stunt at the Crucible in Sheffield, refused to rule out disrupting the marathon more directly.
Activists from Extinction Rebellion blocking Lambeth Bridge in central London in April 2022
Dozens of eco-zealot groups have threatened to ‘step up’ their stunts in ‘new and inventive ways’ unless the Government enters into talks over fossil fuels (Pictured: Activists from Extinction Rebellion demonstrate at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, central London, last April)
Extinction Rebellion protesters last November being removed by South Wales Police from Barclays in Cardiff, South Wales
Police largely managed to prevent an attempt by protesters from Animal Rising to invade the Grand National on Saturday after a Mail on Sunday undercover reporter revealed their plans. However the Liverpool race was delayed for 15 minutes and 118 people were arrested.
Commenting on the protests, Mr Sunak said: ‘People who disrupt decent, law-abiding people’s lives, trying to gratuitously ruin great British sporting events that many have worked hard and saved to enjoy should be ashamed of their selfish and reckless behaviour.
‘Last year the Government introduced new laws to clamp down on this appalling behaviour but it’s clear more is needed. That’s why we are pressing ahead with our Public Order Bill to create a range of new criminal offences targeting these people.’
A Government amendment to the Bill, published in January, would have broadened the definition of ‘serious disruption’, allowing police to intervene earlier.
But it was overturned by opposition peers by 254 votes to 240 in the House of Lords the following month.
A Government source said last night: ‘Labour should get behind our Public Order Bill so we can give police the powers they need.’ But a Labour source responded: ‘Yet again the Conservatives will blame anyone but themselves for the chaos on their watch.
‘Labour is clear that there is no justification for dangerous and disruptive protests which put lives at risk.’
Eco protests Q&A
Why can’t the police act pre-emptively?
Because there is a right to peaceful protest, chief constables are reluctant to appear heavy-handed. Police have no powers to arrest protesters who have yet to commit any crime. However, the Public Order Bill – currently in the final stages in parliament – will create Serious Disruption Prevention Orders, dubbed ‘Asbos for crusties’.
A court can be asked to impose the civil order on an activist, placing them under a variety of restrictions. If there is evidence the activist plans further protests they can be charged and jailed for up to 51 weeks. SDPOs are effectively designed to be ‘pre-emptive strikes’ against known troublemakers – but are not yet available for use.
Can activists be jailed as soon as a protest starts?
Activists are treated individually under the law and the offences which each can be arrested for are relatively minor and in many cases do not carry a custodial sentence. This means that – even if they are charged by police – protesters will not be remanded in custody. In more serious cases, some juries have proved reluctant to convict environmental protesters.
What are ministers doing?
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act – passed last year – raised the maximum penalty for ‘wilful obstruction of the highway’ to 51 weeks in jail.
The Act also increased police powers to impose conditions on demonstrations, including on noise grounds. However a series of other proposals met opposition in Parliament and had to be dropped. Ministers are now close to getting those measures on to the statute book under a new Public Order Bill.
What happens next?
When the Public Order Bill gains royal assent it will create the disruption orders described above and hand a range of powers to police. There will be criminal offences to crack down on ‘locking on’ – where protesters secure themselves to infrastructure such as road gantries. It will become a crime to interfere with ‘key national infrastructure’ including roads, railways, airports and newspaper printing presses. Police will also get more powers to stop and search.
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